


Juliet In Jeopardy

by Theonewhosawitall



Series: Rick's View [4]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Bitterness, Canon-Typical Violence, Coda, F/M, Hospitals, Jealousy, Major Character Injury, Medicinal Drug Use, Season 3 Ep 1 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29333061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: Rick's okay not being the most important man in Juliet's life, as long as Thomas backs her up when she cant keep herself safe. So when he finds out she's been shot, he's not happy.Season 3 Episode 1
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright
Series: Rick's View [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181300
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Juliet In Jeopardy

There was plenty of space on the other side of the booth next to Magnum. Like, acres of it. But Rick still chose to squish in beside Juliet so she had to shuffle up closer to Magnum, who wouldn't move, and she ended up squeezed in between the two of them. She made no complaints.

"You know... there really ought to be more bathrooms at He'eia pier. I picked up a shocking amount of water bottles filled with urine today," Rick said.

"From decorated military sniper to pee wrangler. My, how far you've come," Thomas grinned.

Rick gave him an unimpressed smirk, "Thank you."

Thomas tilted his bottle towards him with a wink. Juliet chuckled to herself at the pair of them. If Rick had come up with a retort he didn’t have time to give it because Flippa made an appearance before he could.

Thomas waved Flippa over when he appeared, "Hey, my man. Uh, what happened to Kamekona?"

"Big cuz is a little slammed right now. Sent me instead," Flippa said. He looked around the room "It's dead in here."

Rick looked around again, as if he wasn’t aware of how empty the bar was and sighed. "Yeah, you know, I think people are still a little skittish about going back to bars. Can't say I blame them."

Flippa smiled at the bright orange high vis jacket wrapped across Rick's chest. "I see you started that community service. You know, for a low, low price, my cousin Bonefish can do that for you."

Juliet tilted her head, "What, you mean he'll fill in?"

"Bonefish does it all, sis. Traffic school, DMV lines. He'll even commute with you to work just so you can use the carpool lane," Flippa nodded.

Juliet scoffed. Community service was hardly a deterrent if you could pay people to join in and do it on your behalf. Rick glanced her way for a moment. If he had been remotely tempted, his mind changed the instant she disapproved.

"Thanks for the offer, but, uh, I think I'll pass. I'd like to stay out of trouble for a little while," He said.

"Hmm, change your mind, you let me know. So what's up?" Flippa asked.

"Well, we are looking for the guy in these fake IDs."

Thomas held up an ID between two fingers to show him. Flippa took it and examined it in the light.

"This is some A-plus work," he said.

"Yeah, we're hoping that maybe Kamekona will recognize the craft and he could talk to the guy that made these and help us find this man," Thomas said.

Flippa nodded and tucked it into his pocket, "I'll take one to show him."

"Great, appreciate it," Thomas nodded.

Flippa shot them a shakra as he stood up "Shoots."

Once he was gone there was even more space for them to shuffle up into. None of them moved. Juliet rolled her head to the side to look at Rick.

"Are you done for the day or do you still have some time to do?" She asked.

"I'm trying to cram as many hours in as I can in one go. You never know when you have to drop everything and jump in the chopper to come save Tommy's ass," Rick grinned.

"Hey! I can look after my own ass thank you very much," Thomas argued.

"Not in my experience," Juliet scoffed.

"How much experience in Tommy's ass do you have?" Rick asked.

He hoped that it sounded like a joke, even though the moment it slipped out of his mouth he felt a pang of envy. Juliet turned back to look at him. Her eyes had a flicker of alarm for half a second before she smirked at him.

"A lot. He’s talking out of it constantly," she said.

Rick threw his head back to laugh, but most of it was just relief. There was no sign of embarrassment in her. She could take the teasing, because there was no truth in it. Or, at least, almost none.

"Ha ha," Thomas said, drily. Then he checked his watch and sat up, "We should get going if we want to make it across the island before rush hour."

"See you later Rick. I might drop by the pier just to check that it's actually you working and not Flippa's cousin," Juliet warned.

"I'll be there. I'll be the one rocking the orange vest," Rick said.

Juliet smiled back for a moment and Rick did his best to stop his eyes from going as dewy as his insides felt when she looked at him like that.

"Jules?" Thomas tugged her arm gently.

She huffed at him but allowed him to hurry her along. "Bye."

Rick lifted his beer to tilt it at them in farewell. He couldn't help feeling a little disappointed every time they left. Whenever there was a case they tended to stop by for a few minutes about fifteen times a day to ask for favours or share information. Rick enjoyed seeing them, but he wished they would stay longer.

At least he wished she would.

But Juliet and Thomas were kind of a package deal. He was the prominent man in her life. He was her partner. The person who kept her safe. The person she trusted with her life. And Rick knew he would protect her because that was who he was. Not that he ever needed to. Juliet was perfectly capable of looking after herself. It was just nice to know she had backup, just in case.

Just like TC was _his_ backup. Which was the reason he was standing in a bright orange vest, up to his shins in litter beside Rick, no matter what he said.

Katsumoto came speeding down to the pier, Rick assumed it was to bring him more snacks while he worked. Last time he had only brought enough for Rick because he didn’t know TC had turned up to "give back to his community". Because working as a coach for the peewee football team and volunteering down at the homeless shelter and protesting with Kumu wasn't enough. Honestly Rick kind of assumed he was delivering extras for TC this time. He was a good man to do so.

But it took half a second for that to change on a dime.

"RICK! TC! GET IN THE CAR! NOW!"

When a cop shouts at you from the window of his car with his engine still running, there's one of two instincts that spark in you. Obey or run. Both Rick and TC had to stop themselves from running by glancing to the other for clarification.

"NOW!" He repeated.

They didn’t ask questions. Whatever was going on was important so they leapt into the back of his car and let him drive them both away from their community service.

"What's going on Gordy?" Rick asked urgently.

"Yeah man, what’s so important we get dragged away from cleaning the beach?" TC asked.

"It's Higgins," Gordon glanced at them in the rear-view mirror, "She's been shot."

Well. That'll do it. TC looked at Rick, alarmed, but it was nothing like the look of utter fear on Rick's face. Juliet had been shot before, and nothing like this had happened. Which meant this was bad. Really bad. And that terrified him.

Thomas was pacing the hallway when Gordon got back. Juliet had been in surgery for a while and it didn’t look like she was getting out any time soon. The police technically still had Thomas in custody, but Gordon made it clear that no one was to restrain him until he got back.

Thomas looked up when Gordon headed his way, and he had the decency to look ashamed.

"I should've called," he said.

"Maybe if you had, Higgins wouldn't have gotten shot," Gordon agreed.

Rick's stomach twisted to hear it. Gordon had been good enough to let them leave their vests and litter pickers in the back of his car so the two of them looked like regular civilians again. It was the third nicest thing he had done for Rick today.

"Hey. Any news?" He asked.

Thomas gave a slight shake of his head, "Still in surgery."

"You okay?" TC asked.

Thomas looked ashamed. It was a small expression, but it spoke volumes to Rick. He had let her down and he knew it. She was in there because he hadn’t protected her like a good partner should. Rick was torn. Part of him wanted to comfort his friend and let him know it wasn’t his fault, but part of him wanted to shake him by the arms and demand to know what happened and why.

"Yeah, yeah. Just, uh..." Thomas swallowed, "Shouldn't have split up. Did your guys get anything from the car rental place?"

Rick clenched his jaw to stop himself rolling his eyes. Juliet could be dying and all Thomas was thinking about was closing the case.

"Yeah. It was a dead end. Helen and Bruce did not rent that SUV," Gordon explained.

"You sure?" Thomas frowned.

"Like whoever was following you, Magnum, it wasn't your clients," Gordon said.

Rick frowned. That changed things. "All right, so, if it wasn't the clients, how were they able to catch up to you?"

"Higgins did tell them where we were headed. I don't know, there's not many houses in the area. Maybe they just drove around until they saw the Ferrari," Thomas shrugged.

It didn’t really matter how they tracked them down now because they had and they had shot Juliet and now she was in surgery and that was all that mattered.

"Excuse me, Mr. Magnum?"

Rick frowned harder when the nurse came over. There was very clearly a group here, waiting for information, but she only addressed him, like he was the only one who mattered.

"She's gonna be fine. Surgery went well."

Rick instantly dropped his annoyance as relief flooded through him. TC laughed behind him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I knew it. I knew Higgy would be fine. That girl can survive anything," TC declared, proudly.

"Good thing to because with Tommy around anything can happen!" Rick said.

Again, as much as he tried to play it off as a light hearted tease, there was an underlining venom that he couldn’t quite shake. Thomas gave him a look. He heard the venom, but Rick was never that sharp with him, so he had to have heard wrong. At least that's what he assumed.

They wandered into Juliet's room in an order that just felt right. TC went first, then Thomas, and Rick brought up the rear. TC wanted to see her so hurried in, Thomas wanted to apologise so took a little extra time to work out how, and Rick was reluctant to see her in a hospital bed, so he followed them. Juliet, however, was utterly delighted to see them all.

"Come in! Guys, I'm just having some jelly. First time ever! OMG! It's utterly delicious!" She declared, beaming, "Where has it been all my life, honestly?"

She spooned more into her mouth as she looked up at them. TC stayed by the end of her bed, and Thomas moved to the head of it, so Rick filled the gap in the middle. TC continued smiling the entire time, endlessly amused by how clearly high she was. Rick smiled because he felt he had to - he was the goof after all - but seeing her like this felt wrong and he didn’t like it. But when Juliet looked at Thomas, he wouldn't look her in the eye and she tilted her head at him.

"What's wrong? I told you I was gonna be fine. You just didn't believe me," she said.

"I know, just..." Thomas knew this was the moment he had to apologise, but he still didn’t have the words, "you know."

It wasn't enough for Rick, who couldn't help feeling a little put out still that Thomas couldn't find it in him to say sorry to the woman he got _shot._ Yet Juliet could see the apology in Thomas's eyes, and that was good enough for her.

"Guys, seriously, you should get in on this. Look at it. Jewelled deliciousness. I mean... Mm-hmm!" She smiled.

She lifted the jelly to the light to admire it and Rick's smile warmed in amusement.

"Wow. They have you on some serious painkillers, don't they?" He chuckled.

"Yes, indeed, they do!" She chuckled too, "probably get you some, actually, if you wanted. I'd just keep it on the DL." She dropped her voice lower to whisper, "Super quiet."

TC chuckled along and whispered back, "No, thank you. We'll pass."

She smiled and shrugged, "Mmm. That's your loss."

Rick's smile grew as her focus shifted back to her jelly. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the entry of a doctor.

"How's everybody feeling?" He announced.

"Wonderful! Great. Ethan, my friends. My friends, Ethan," Juliet gestured between them with her spoon.

"Hey," Rick said, trying hard not to look put out again.

"Yeah, thanks for looking after our girl, Doc," TC said, earnestly.

Thomas folded his arms and leaned towards Rick to whisper, "First-name basis with the doc."

Rick could hear the bitterness in it. It was relieving to know he wasn’t the only one irritated by that as he whispered back, "Yeah, I noticed that, too."

Ethan's eyes twinkled as he knelt down to check her vitals, "Let's take a look here."

"Guys, Ethan literally just saved my life. I mean, he's a veritable hero!" Juliet beamed.

"Oh! He's the one who carried you out of the forest, I guess, huh?" Thomas laughed, pointedly.

Juliet poked her tongue out at Thomas. He clenched his jaw as he held his smile stubbornly. She was high. She didn't know what she was doing. At least that's what he put it down to.

"This is looking good. But I don't want to intrude here, so I will take your vitals again after visiting hours," Ethan smiled.

Juliet smiled back. "Sounds good. I'll be here."

Ethan chuckled, keenly aware of the way her friends were watching them. "Great. I'll swing by later."

"It's a date."

Rick took a deep breath and held it in his chest to keep himself from yelling. Ethan's smile grew. Rick and Thomas shared a look. Ethan cleared his throat slightly and turned back to them.

"Nice meeting you guys," he said.

"Nice to meet you," Rick stated.

"All right, brother," TC said.

"Bye," Thomas muttered.

Juliet's eyes tracked her doctor as he left the room. She craned her neck to try and watch him for longer when he disappeared behind TC. It was in no way subtle.

"She's kind of into this guy," Thomas complained quietly to Rick.

"No, she's just really high," Rick lied, more to reassure himself than Thomas, but it didn’t work. "Although, yeah, I think she's into him, too."

TC continued grinning like the cat that got the cream as Juliet finally pulled her eyes away from the door. He had look that said he knew something she didn’t want him to, and she didn’t understand why.

"What?"

Before TC could answer, Thomas's phone chimed. "Um... It's, uh, Gordon. Noelani's got something."

"Okay, go, go. Get the bugger who shot me, for heaven's sake. And, um, oh, if you spot anyone out there who has another couple of these... Maybe a different flavour. Maybe a blue one," Juliet urged.

With the opportunity for revenge on the table, Rick and Magnum get off to find Noelani. Only TC lingered long enough to say goodbye.

"Love you," he said.

"Love you too TC. I'll love you even more if you get me more jelly," she said, pointedly.

He laughed again but nodded, "You got it."

Juliet smiled as she settled comfortably in her bed. She never really had friends who would visit her in hospital before. She quite liked it. Especially if it came with the opportunity for extra jelly.

...

Noelani expected Thomas. The moment Gordon walked in he warned her that Juliet had been hurt, she expected him. Noelani had plenty of experience with people who wouldn’t let a little thing like the law get between them and avenging their partner. She hadn’t expected Rick and TC in tow, but she could work with it.

"Seems your vic actually died twice," she said, "State of Illinois declared him dead following an investigation into his disappearance back in 2002."

She handed a file to Gordon and he read it before announcing, "It was ruled a homicide, and the person found responsible was Max's wife, who also happens to be your client Helen. Real name, Margaret Slattery. She was released from prison last week."

"So, Max fakes his death and then frames his wife for his murder?" Thomas said.

"Damn. She spent all that time in prison for a crime she didn't commit," Thomas said, sympathetically.

"Uh, this was revenge, pure and simple," Rick said.

He didn’t have any sympathy for the woman. Not if she hurt Juliet. As far as he cared, she could spend the rest of her life there and rot afterwards.

"I'll get an alert out. Lock down the island. Those two aren't going anywhere," Gordon promised.

Thomas went to the hospital to update Juliet on their discovery. Rick wasn’t sure he could stomach seeing her devouring her doctor with her eyes again, so he ducked out to pick up his car from the pier and explain why he and TC had left early to their observer. TC took this time to head back to his hanger and reschedule the client he had this afternoon.

"I got a look at Dr. Shah on my way in," Kumu said to Juliet as she perched on the edge of her bed, "Mmm... He's a four-alarm fire, that one!"

Juliet forced a laugh but she bowed her head and felt her cheeks warm. "Uh... hadn't noticed."

Thomas rolled his eyes. If she was going to lie she might as well make it believable. Even Kumu raised an eyebrow at her. Juliet's cheeks turned pink.

"Okay, he does have a... rather pleasant bedside manner. "

"And he doesn't have a ring either!" Kumu grinned, "I'm just sayin'."

Juliet bowed her head as she felt herself blush. Thomas said nothing. He wished Rick was there. As odd and sharp as he was acting, at least Rick seemed to disapprove of this doctors behaviour as much as he did. All he had to back him up now was Gordon on the other end of the phone, tacking their vehicle.

"Seems like they're currently at- oh God..."

"Where?!" Thomas asked urgently.

"Island Hoppers, Magnum I-"

Gordon was hung up on instantly and Thomas went flying out of the room like a bullet from a gun. Juliet cried out to remind him the Ferraris tyres had been flattened, but there was nothing she could do. She was stuck in a hospital bed with a bullet wound in her side.

Rick was standing by reception, eyeing the gift shop. There were dozens of flowers on display but he wasn’t sure whether to buy a bunch or not. He wanted to show Juliet he cared but he didn't want her to know how much. Especially with that doctor sniffing around.

Then Thomas went flying into Rick so fast he didn’t have time to think.

"RICK! RICK THANK GOD! THEY GOT TC GET IN THE CAR!"

Rick swore loudly. This was the second time that he had been forced into a car because his friend was in danger today and he couldn’t help blaming Thomas. He had brought these people into their lives and now - now Rick was going to get them the hell out of them.

"Come on, TC, pick up!" Thomas hissed.

"If he's not answering he might already by flying!" Rick warned.

"Katsumoto is on route already, as long as he gets there in time-"

"To hell with that-"

Rick slammed his foot on the accelerator. He was already serving community hours, he could take a few dozen more or a few nights in jail as long as they didn't lose TC.

It was infuriating to arrive seconds too late and worse when Gordon arrived after them.

"I'll call HPD Air Support!" He declared.

"That's a bad idea! They-they already shot two people today. They feel boxed in, it might make it three," Thomas said.

"You have a better plan?" Gordon demanded.

Thomas thought. The best thing about Thomas was his ability to think like lightning. It took him less than a second to come up with a plan that required almost nothing but utter faith in his friends abilities.

"You still got Betty, right?" He asked.

Rick smiled, "Never leave home without her."

"Who's Betty?" Gordon asked.

"Betty is your new best friend," Rick declared.

He opened the trunk of his car and pulled back two blankets and a fake bottom to uncover his favourite sniper rifle. If it took sacrificing her to the law today, so be it. He knew a guy who could get him another one anyway.

"What the hell you gonna do with that?!" Gordon demanded.

"Six years ago in Kandahar, Taliban stole an Apache. My boy Rick right here brought it down with one shot," Thomas declared proudly.

"Not a single casualty," Rick grinned.

Those were the ones he was proudest of. It was all well and good taking out the big bad terrorist who was going to blow up his friends and a bunch of innocent civilians, but taking them down without taking them out was better in his books.

"Why do you even have that thing?" Gordon asked.

Rick shrugged,. "'Cause I'm F.O.M."

"The hell's that mean?" He demanded.

"Friend of Magnum."

"Enough said."

Even with Gordon's eye roll, Rick thought that was an under reaction. He loved Thomas like a brother but if the cop wasn’t going to keep him under control anymore then it was just down to Juliet, and with her in the firing like - Rick shook his head. He couldn’t think like that right now. He had to focus. He had one shot and TC's life depended on it.

"Every second that chopper's moving, it's getting out of range," he said.

Gordon was reluctant but he gave the nod. This wasn’t just their best shot it was their only one. If this went wrong... it just couldn’t. Rick took a deep breath and aimed carefully.

"Ah, come on, Rick, take the shot!" Thomas urged.

Rick drowned him out. He needed focus. Absolute focus...

They all held their breath as a trail of black smoke billowed out of the back of the helicopter. If he was wrong, if his aim had been off, they could be looking at a major crash here...

And they breathed out again as TC turned the helicopter around and headed back for them.

"They're coming back! You did it!" Thomas clapped him on the shoulder triumphantly.

Rick smirked as he lifted Betty off of the hood of Gordon's car. "What was that you called me earlier? pee wrangler?"

Thomas smirked, "Nice shot, pal."

She gave up almost as soon as she stepped out of the helicopter and found half a dozen guns pointing straight at her and three squad cars if she tried to escape. _He_ did not. Thomas was quick to tail him though. He had him bleeding on the floor before Rick even arrived for back up.

"You almost killed my partner!" Thomas spat.

He shrugged as he wiped the blood from his lip, "I guess we're even."

Thomas punched him in the face and Rick felt another stab of envy.

"Not even close!"

...

Rick rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet as he counted the windows above them. He was trying to remember what floor Juliet's room had been on so he could track the process of her and Thomas. Only one person was allowed up to collect her and of course it was Thomas who was chosen.

"Hey, settle down man. She's coming home, stop looking so nervous," TC assured him.

Rick licked his lips and said nothing. TC tilted his head curiously. He knew Rick better than anyone and he hadn’t seen him so anxious about something so trivial before. Rick only eased when Thomas and Juliet appeared in the elevator. They cheered when they saw her. Juliet smiled, but it wasn’t quiet as delighted now she was sober.

"So, did Margaret ever talk?" Juliet asked.

"No, but Daniel did," Gordon explained, "According to him, Max cleaned out his and Margaret's joint accounts 18 years ago, then vanished, framing Margaret for his murder. She later had him break into a storage locker owned by Max's brother. Found letters from Max with an Oahu postmark, which led them here."

"The crazy part is Margaret would've gotten away with it if they hadn't shot Higgy," Thomas said.

"Oh! Good job, Higgy!" Rick beamed.

Juliet gave him an amused but unimpressed smile, "Glad I could be of service."

"I don't understand," Kumu said, "How would Margaret have gotten away with murdering her ex?"

"Well, under the double jeopardy rule, she couldn't go away for killing her husband twice. She would've had her revenge and been a free woman. Now she's gonna go to jail for the rest of her life for accessory to attempted murder," Gordon explained.

"Well, it couldn't happen to a nicer gal," Juliet spat.

Rick smiled to himself. That venom, that protected Juliet. That was her defensive streak. If Thomas couldn't keep her safe then he hoped to see more of that.

"Hey, uh, listen, I just want to thank you all, because everybody here helped in some small way," Thomas said, earnestly.

"Teamwork makes the dream work, baby," TC smiled.

"That's right," Thomas agreed.

The two of them fist bumped while the others chuckled away.

"Oh, and, uh, Gordy, I also want to apologize," Thomas said, "I-I think, after what happened today, I really learned my lesson."

As earnestly as he meant it, Rick still huffed. He could apologise to Gordon for breaking laws like he wouldn't do it again in a heartbeat, but he couldn’t even say _sorry_ to Juliet for leaving her to almost die!

"You know, save it. You are who you are, and you're never gonna change. You guys also do a lot of good, and if, in the course of doing so, you ignore a law or two, well... I've come to the realization that I'm just gonna have to live with that. Take the bad with the good," Gordon decided.

"Oh, good. Well, does that mean I get Betty back?" Rick asked hopefully.

"No."

Rick nodded. that was exactly what he had expected. "Fair enough."

From the moment Gordon took the gun from his hands Rick knew he wasn’t getting it back. He was going to miss it though. But then Juliet chuckled. Rick grinned. She was safe and well and laughing. And TC was right beside her doing the same. Rick would give up anything for this, and Betty was just another thing in the end.

"I do know a way that Thomas could show his appreciation for all of us," Rick announced.

"What? Didn't I just do that?" Thomas laughed.

"Well, uh, deeds matter more than words, Thomas," Rick countered, "I think you could, uh, buy us all a few drinks at La Mariana."

"I like that idea!" Kumu grinned.

The others agreed. They weren't sure how Thomas would wriggle out of paying this time, especially since he had somehow found the money to replace the Ferrari's wheels, but they looked forward to finding out. Although when he and Juliet arrived ten minutes later than they should have, Rick did wonder if he was going to turn up at all.

Rick waved as they walked in, "Higgy, present for you."

Juliet came over cautiously, "For me? You really didn’t have to, you've already done so much."

"I think you’re gonna like it," Rick smiled.

He ducked into the kitchen for a moment, leaving her at the bar. When he came back, he was grinning, and he had a platter with a silver bowl over the top. Juliet raised an eyebrow curiously. Rick set it in front of her, and removed the bowl with a flourish. Juliet gasped in delight.

"Jelly!" She laughed, "And its blue!"

TC slammed up against the bar, affronted. "You got her jelly too?! Then what was the point in me charming that nurse into giving me all these?!"

TC tipped his rucksack upside down onto the bar and poured multi-coloured jelly cups out across it, making Juliet laugh all over again.

"Well thank you very much chaps but uh, I rather think I'll have my own direct access to these soon," she said.

"Oh yeah? What you gonna do, start giving blood and ask to swap out the cookie?" Thomas smirked.

"Can you do that?" Rick asked, hopefully.

TC gave him a look that both answered him and called him an idiot without a single word spoken.

"Is this something to do with the four alarm fire who saved your life?" Kumu asked, knowingly.

"Again, I feel like I should get more credit for literally carrying you to the hospital-" Thomas began.

"And totalling Robin's - I mean _Higgy's_ Ferrari's tyres in the process," Rick argued.

Juliet usually would have sided with Rick on this matter, but for some reason she softened today. "He did the responsible thing and replaced them. That's all I ask."

"I'll remember in future," Thomas warned.

"Enough about the car! Juliet, tell me honestly, did I detect a vibe between you and Doctor Hot stuff back there?" Kumu asked eagerly.

"You mean _Ethan?_ The _hero?"_ TC teased.

He made a show of batting his eyelids as he did and Juliet’s eyes widened in horror.

"God did I really call him that? To his face? That's embarrassing."

"Yeah because no man ever likes it when a gorgeous and badass lady calls him a hero," Rick scoffed.

"I think she means it's embarrassing for another reason," Thomas grumbled.

"Tell me you asked him for his number?" Kumu begged.

"No, actually I didn’t," Jukiet said slowly, holding in a smile. "I didn’t need to, because he asked me on a date. and I said yes."

Kumu gasped like a kid on Christmas, and TC threw his fists in the air and clapped proudly. Thomas just tensed, like he already knew. Only Rick's lungs gave out. He didn’t need air in them anymore since he no longer had a functioning heart.

"Fu-antastic!" He yelped, forcing himself to look far happier than he felt, "good for you Higgy, going from a major league batter to a life saving doctor in one move. Geeze, I feel bad for whoever’s next that’s a high bar to hit."

Thomas's chest ached at the reminder, but he smiled anyway, "Yeah well that's Higgy. Nothing but the best for her."

"Speaking of, could I please have a spoon," She said, "a-a-and the blue one, I think."

Rick supplied a spoon the moment oxygen returned to his brain. Juliet tugged the platter closer to her. she took a spoonful, and raised it to her eyelevel to admire it for a moment. While she didn’t say anything this time, TC grinned at the memory of what she had said before. They watched eagerly as he tasted it.

Juliet smiled, ready for the taste she remembered adoring just a couple days ago. She paused. Her face fell and her shoulders slumped. "Hmm..."

"Not as good when you’re not high?" Rick asked, sympathetically.

"Admittedly a little disappointing yes," She confessed.

"Well I know someone a guy can get you some, on the down low," TC's eyes shone as he lowered his voice to whisper, "Very quiet."

Juliet frowned, _"you_ can?"

She glanced towards Rick. Even though his insides were tearing themselves apart he felt a rush of pride at the look on her face. He was the one with connections. He was the one who knew people. If she needed anything, she knew she could rely on him.

"Who?" Juliet asked curiously.

TC beamed. All three men spoke in chorus as they said, "You!"

And Juliet had no idea what they were talking about, but she had a feeling it was going to be embarrassing.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been watching Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix which is a slightly gory show about a mother who becomes a zombie, and so far Rick, Kumu and Shammy have all turned up. I recommend it.


End file.
